Attacks on Queers in Chechnya

Recent reports from PBS and the Associated Press are bringing to light new atrocities occurring within the Russia republic of Checnya. The allegations claim that crimes from the government against their own LGBTQ citizens have reached an alarming high rate.

The Russian LGBT Network has diligently been tracking and exposing the corrupt system and supporting victims. They released a statement Monday that claimed about 40 men and women have been detained since December under the suspicion of being gay. At least two of the people detained have died due to torture while in custody.

Alvi Karimov, a spokesman for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, told the Interfax news agency on Monday that the latest reports are “complete lies and don’t have an ounce of truth in them.”

Victims have come forward to give personal accounts and testimony of detainment and abuse.

The government of Chechnya has been accused of an incalculable number of human rights violations and abuses in addition to these recent reports targeting gay and queer communities.